2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs: Panthers vs. Lightning second-round preview

The second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs features eight teams in four best-of-7 series, which start Tuesday.
Today, NHL.com previews the Eastern Conference Second Round between the Florida Panthers and the Tampa Bay Lightning.

(1A) Florida Panthers vs. (3A) Tampa Bay Lightning

Panthers: 58-18-6, 122 points; 4-2 to win first round against Washington Capitals
Lightning: 51-23-8, 110 points; 4-3 to win first round against Toronto Maple Leafs
Season Series: FLA 2-1-1; TBL 2-2-0
Game 1:Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; TNT, SN, CBC, TVAS)
The Florida Panthers and the Tampa Bay Lightning will look to take the Sunshine State rivalry to the next level when they meet in the Eastern Conference Second Round.
The Lightning and the Panthers met in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in the best-of-7 Stanley Cup First Round last season. Tampa Bay won in six games in a series where the teams combined for 41 goals and went on to win the Stanley Cup for the second straight season.
Now the Lightning are on a quest to become the first team to win the Cup in three consecutive seasons since the New York Islanders' run of four straight championships from 1980-83. After coming back from a 3-2 series deficit to defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round, Tampa Bay will face another difficult challenge against Florida, which won the Presidents' Trophy as the NHL regular-season leader in points.
"That's when things get interesting and rivalries are born when you play teams multiple times in the playoffs," Lightning captain Steven Stamkos said. "Our division was crazy this year. We beat a team like Toronto, who was a top five team in the League, and then we get the best team in the League in the regular season in the second round."
RELATED: [Complete Panthers vs. Lightning series coverage]
The Panthers are brimming with confidence after defeating the Washington Capitals in six games in the first round for their first playoff series win since reaching the 1996 Stanley Cup Final, where they were swept by the Colorado Avalanche. With that weight lifted from their shoulders, the Panthers will look to take another step against the two-time defending champions.
"Obviously, our goal is to keep moving forward with more series," Panthers forward Claude Giroux said. "The first step is done now. We move on, we turn the page and focus on round two now."

Game breakers

Panthers: Carter Verhaeghe had a first round to remember, outshining big-name teammates such as Aleksander Barkov, Jonathan Huberdeau, Giroux and Aaron Ekblad by setting Panthers playoff records with six goals and 12 points in six games against the Capitals. The forward scored two goals, including the overtime winner, in Game 4, had five points (two goals, three assists), including the winning goal, in Game 5 and scored another overtime winner and had an assist in Game 6.
Lightning: Nikita Kucherov led the Lightning with eight points (two goals, six assists) in the first round, including the tying 5-on-3 goal in third period of their 4-3 overtime victory in Game 6. Kucherov led the League with 32 points (eight goals, 24 assists) in 23 playoff games last season and is fourth among active players with 135 points (46 goals, 89 assists) in 120 playoff games. That includes 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in six games against Florida last postseason.

Goaltending

Panthers: Sergei Bobrovsky was solid and made timely saves in the first round, finishing with a 2.79 goal-against average and .906 save percentage to win the second postseason series when he played more than two games in his 12 NHL seasons (nine seasons in the playoffs). Bobrovsky was 39-7-3 with a 2.67 GAA, .913 save percentage and three shutouts during the regular season. Rookie backup Spencer Knight didn't play against the Capitals but started the final two games of the series against the Lightning last season, including a 36-save performance in a 4-1 win in Game 5.
Lightning: Andrei Vasilevskiy has played every minute of every playoff game for Tampa Bay during its run of nine consecutive series victories. Vasilevskiy's numbers were pedestrian in the first round (3.04 GAA, .897 save percentage), but he further fortified his big-game resume by making 30 saves in Tampa Bay's 2-1 series-clinching win in Game 7 against Toronto on Saturday. Vasilevskiy was 39-18-5 with a 2.49 GAA, .916 save percentage and two shutouts during the regular season. He won the Conn Smythe Trophy voted to the most valuable player in the playoffs last season when he was 16-7 with a 1.99 GAA, .937 save percentage and five shutouts.

Numbers to know

Panthers: Florida went 0-for-18 on the power play against Washington and became the ninth team in NHL history to win a best-of-7 series without scoring a power-play goal. After leading the League with 29 comeback wins during the regular season, the Panthers came from behind to win their final three games in the first round. Huberdeau led Florida with 10 points (two goals, eight assists) in six games against Tampa Bay in the series last season.
Lightning: Tampa Bay is 17-0 in playoff games following losses since the start of the 2020 postseason. The Lightning were 8-for-20 (40 percent) on the power play against the Panthers in their series last season. Tampa Bay was 7-for-33 (21.2 percent) with the man-advantage against Toronto.

X-factors

Panthers: Ekblad appeared to find his legs and timing as the first round progressed after the defenseman missed the final 20 games of the regular season with a lower-body injury. Ekblad had five points (one goal, four assists) in the six games against Washington and his skating and passing skill were keys to starting Florida's quick-strike transition game.
Lightning: Forward Nick Paul scored the first two NHL playoff goals of his career in Game 7 against Toronto and might be more important against Florida with Brayden Point out for Game 1 after sustaining a lower-body injury Saturday. Paul had 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 21 regular-season games with the Lightning after being acquired in a trade with the Ottawa Senators on March 20.

They said it

"People say the 'Comeback Cats', and I'm not sure that's what I see. I see a group of guys that get hit and they don't fall down and then they start hitting back." -- Panthers coach Andrew Brunette
"We saw them a lot last year and whenever we play them it's obviously a tough test. Watching them against the Capitals, that series could have went either way. We kind of know what to expect from them. It's probably going to be a grind." -- Lightning forward Ross Colton

Will win if …

Panthers: Bobrovsky continues to make timely saves, Huberdeau breaks out after a quiet first round (one goal, two assists) and they get off to better starts. Comebacks are the Panthers' specialty but chasing games usually isn't a blueprint for long playoff runs.
Lightning:They play team defense like they did in Game 7 against the Maple Leafs (26 blocked shots), Vasilevskiy continues his big-game ways, and they don't run out of gas after playing 55 playoff games over the past three postseasons. But Point's injury is a concern.

How they look

Panthers projected lineup
Carter Verhaeghe -- Aleksander Barkov -- Claude Giroux
Jonathan Huberdeau -- Sam Bennett -- Anthony Duclair
Noel Acciari -- Anton Lundell -- Sam Reinhart
Ryan Lomberg -- Eetu Luostarinen -- Patric Hornqvist
Ben Chiarot -- Aaron Ekblad
Gustav Forsling -- MacKenzie Weegar
Brandon Montour -- Radko Gudas
Sergei Bobrovsky
Spencer Knight
Scratched:Maxim Mamin, Petteri Lindbohm, Joe Thornton, Lucas Carlsson, Robert Hagg, Jonas Johansson
Injured: Mason Marchment (lower body), Markus Nutivaara (undisclosed)
Lightning projected lineup
Anthony Cirelli -- Steven Stamkos -- Nikita Kucherov
Ondrej Palat -- Nick Paul -- Alex Killorn
Ross Colton -- Riley Nash -- Brandon Hagel
Patrick Maroon -- Pierre-Edouard Bellemare -- Corey Perry
Victor Hedman -- Erik Cernak
Ryan McDonagh -- Jan Rutta
Mikhail Sergachev -- Cal Foote
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Brian Elliott
Scratched:Zach Bogosian
Injured:Brayden Point (lower body)